Conservation Northwest updates
4 Winter/Spring 2016 conservationnw.org
Reflections on
America's natural
heritage
PROTECTING OUR PUBLIC LANDS
Chase Gunnell Communications Manager,
chase@conservationnw.org
The seizure of Malheur National
Wildlife Refuge by armed extremists de-
manding that the government hand over
America's public lands to local or private
control has ended. But the struggle to
keep our public lands in public hands is
far from finished.
As a passionate hunter, angler, hiker
and conservationist, at times it feels
like the movement to seize our nation's
public lands is an assault on my identity.
My parents and grandparents raised me
with public dirt under my fingernails.
Some of my earliest memories include
fishing for salmon on rivers flowing
out of the Cascades, gathering mush
-
rooms in Olympic National Forest, and
hunting on wildlife areas across Eastern
Washington. roughout my life I've
gone to these places to feel not apart
from nature, but a part of it.
What then is someone like me to
make of those who recently seized a
piece of our public endowment? And
what of the larger movement behind the
"Oregon Standoff," one that's well-orga
-
nized and funded with the aim of trans-
fer for private benefit the public lands
that I and so many others have relied on?
In discussing the formation of the
U.S. Forest Service, President eodore
Roosevelt famously said: "the rights of
the public to the natural resources out
-
weigh private rights, and must be given
its first consideration."
e extremists who took over Mal-
heur used armed intimidation to pursue
the "taking" of public lands for private
gain and personal redress. I'm glad they
have been brought to justice and face
prosecution for lawbreaking and us
-
ing intimidation in an attempt to steal
our natural heritage. However, like the
"Sagebrush Rebellion" before them,
their land grab crusade is not over.
Backed by groups like the American
Lands Council and the American Leg
-
islative Exchange Council (ALEC), not
to mention shadowy billionaire donors
including the Koch Brothers, the Mal-
heur debacle was just one skirmish in
a bigger conflict. Even in Washington
state we've seen attempts by some elect-
ed officials to pass legislation studying
the "transfer" of our public lands. e
desire of all these groups? To hand over
America's forests, deserts, wildlife ref
-
uges and other public lands to state or
county control. And then, when these
local entities cannot afford to manage
such lands, as numerous studies show
would certainly be the case, have them
sold off to private corporations for unre
-
stricted logging, fracking and mining or
be bought up as playgrounds for the very
rich. If they have their way, the tagline
of our public lands will shi from "is
Land is Your Land" to "No Trespassing."
Let there be no doubt, there is zero
constitutional or legal basis for extrem
-
ist claims denouncing America's public
lands. ere is, however, a loud senti-
ment among some that environmental
regulations are driving the economic
woes of rural communities. I, and Con-
servation Northwest, recognize that
some citizens and certain public land us-
ers may feel hemmed in by government
bureaucracy, or even by the actions of
conservation groups.
While environmental regulations
are a fundamental necessity for ensur
-
ing that current and future generations
can use these lands for both extractive
and non-extractive purposes, Conserva-
tion Northwest is an organization that
engages in open dialogue and genuine
listening to find common ground and
collaboratively reach solutions to chal
-
lenging issues.
Interestingly, Malheur itself is one
such collaborative success story. e
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge was
established on August 18, 1908, by Pres
-
ident eodore Roosevelt. Unclaimed
Protecting our public lands
